The Potter family: All fall down
by Lily EvansPotterBlack
Summary: AU. OotPspoilers. A missing flower returns, with consequence. The Potters' life's are unclear, the fate of little Harry rests in his...Mother's hands. Who's fallen and who's left standing when history tries to amend and Lily Potter is it's broken vessel?


Author: Lily EvansPotterBlack

Title: The Potter family: All fall down

Chapter: One

Word count: 1834

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: None that I could but a name to.

Pairings: Not really a paring-centric piece of fiction, but definitely Lily Potter/James Potter. Unlike my other stories I am not slashing James. Or Lily for that matter.

Summery: AU. OotPspoils. A missing flower returns, though not without consequence. The Potters' life's are uncertain, the fate of little Harry rests in his...Mother's hands. Who has fallen and who is left standing, when history attempts to amend and Lily Potter is it's damaged vessel? Disclaimer: I own nada.

Hello. My son is dead. My husband is dead. Or so people tell me. I have no idea who I am anymore. Nothing makes sense. I have Tom, at least. He took me too a house and the man there was overjoyed to see me, he kept screaming for "Lily, Lily!" but I don't know who that is, and told him as much.

The black-haired man was confused, he kept insisting that I was 'Lily.' My name is Sal, Tom says it's short for Salazar- my father, who my Mother named me after.

Then he saw Tom. He turned pale. Then he saw Petie. He screamed in rage. Then he saw me, he saw me do as Tom ordered. Understand swept across his features, and he ran.

Tommy laughed, a high-pitched laugh that made my skin crawl. Dutifully I followed the man, the man who thought he knew me. Tom said he was delusional, that his wife had been abducted nary a month ago and this man, Potter, believed I to be her. Lily must have been his wife. I felt sorry for him, this delusional man named James Potter.

So, when I found him, standing over some sort of bed and picking up a bundle of black and pinky-white, he looked so sad that I took pity on him.

I told him that I was only supposed to kill the bundle of black and white- I think it was some sort of animal- and told him that I would leave him be if he just handed it over. Potter looked horrified. He cradled the bundle closer to his chest and begged me to remember, remember who I was. Who Harry was.

I think this was where it all got confusing. I didn't want to kill him, this Potter-man, he had just lost his wife and I didn't want him to loose his life as well. I had no idea who Harry was, or what Harry meant to me.

Smiling gently like I would a wounded animal that Tommy didn't want me to kill, I attempted to coax him out of the bundle. At this time James was speaking, trying to persuade me, "Your Lily, your my wife. Come on, Lil, you can fight this. You don't want to kill Harry."

Then I understood. "I'm not Lily," I explained to him patiently, "Your mistaken. Lily's gone, James. I can help you find her though, if you want. Just give me it and then we can go look for her, okay?" I stepped forward, smiling, holding my arms out wide.

James looked hesitant and looked to the bundle, which was squirming against his chest. I smiled, relieved and brought my wand out of it's holster. Immediately James stumbled backwards, shaking his head. He was crying.

My heart ached at the picture he made. I didn't like to see him cry. No, not at all. "James, James, it's alright," I soothed, "Don't cry, Jim," The endearment that slipped out surprised both of us I think. The bundle that James held twisted in his grasp, but this time it turned and faced me, gurgling happily.

And I stopped, startled. For the bundle was not an animal but a child. A baby boy with an untidy tuft of black hair like James', who grinned toothily when he saw me, "Mama!" And his eyes, why, his eyes were just like mine. I swallowed, and suddenly it was I who was walking backwards and James who was edging closer to me.

"This is Harry," James introduced gently, smiling at both me and the child. "Lily, this is Harry. Harry's our child, Harry's _your son_."

My back hit the wall of the nursery. It was indeed a nursery, I realized with a jolt. Stuffed toys- A snitch, a broomstick, a wolf, a proud stag that looked so familiar, a fluffy black dog that looked like a grim, a worn white bear with a red heart for a nose that I knew insistently knew was once mine-decorated the pillows and the windowsill. A mobile bobbing with mystical creatures hung above the brightly painted bed- Crib, some part of me insisted- and the walls were painted with clouds and people on broomsticks who zoomed across the walls. _I _had painted those walls, I suddenly knew, I had painted them by muggle means and then used animation charms to re-enact famous Quiditch matches. It had taken me weeks and I had been heavily pregnant at the time, making it all the more difficult. But, painstakingly, I had went over ever detail to make sure it was perfect, as cheerful and authentic as possible. Nothing but the best for my baby, my little sweetie.

I began to shake. James held out the child who was reaching for me with fisted hands, calling sweetly, "Mama, ma," and I leapt away from them both, flinching.

"Salazar." It was Tom. His red eyes that I liked before were now narrowed dangerously, and swirled like my own blood. "Kill the child, Salazar." he hissed, hissed like a snake.

Trembling, I turned to face James, who had backed away and slung Harry closer to him as soon as Tom had appeared. He smiled at me, but held his head high and glared at Tom, "You think I'll let you hurt my son, Voldemort?" he spat fiercely.

Voldemort. A shiver of recognition and fear thrilled down my spine, Lily didn't like him. Voldemort wanted to take away her baby.

I chanced a nervous look at Harry, and saw he was staring at Tom-who was taunting James with wide eyes-Lily's eyes.

My eyes.

I gulped back the sudden rush of tears in my throat, and licked my lips. I met his gaze squarely, if a little ashamedly. He looked at me curiously for a moment, as if judging me with an awareness of what I had came here to do. Then he saw smiled. A bright, brilliant grin broke across his face that would was so innocent, and sweet and mischievous that it made my heart melt. An angel's grin that would one day break many hearts. Like it did mine.

"Harry." The name fell from my lips reverently and abruptly the background buzz of noise fell silent. Startled, I pushed my eyes away from Harry's to find both Tom and James staring at me.

"Yea, that's right Lily." James nodded, looking eagerly hopeful, "Harry. Your son."

"My son." I echoed softly, and I smiled. I liked that.

"Do you want to hold him?" James asked, grinning slightly.

I nodded, and held out my hands. My breath catching as I realized this beautiful baby boy was mine. I tingle raced pleasantly down my spine. '_Mine, _My son.'

"Well," Tom started, his voice cold. "It seems I have underestimated your intelligence, Salazar, if you truly believe this maggot to be your son."

My blood froze. "W-what?"

Tom smirked, amused. "You can't really believe that the Gryffindor speaks the truth, can you?"

I faulted, "W-whaa-aat? T-tom, I d-don't Tom, I don't understand."

Tom's smiled cruelly, he voice mocking, he said-"They know who you are Salazar Vondila. They know you are mine. They wish to trick you, to make you sympathise with them." Tom gestured to James-who was looking alarmed, and horror-struck. He held Harry tighter than before. "This child is not yours Sssssalazzzzar, this man issssss _not _your husssssband."

My grip on my wand tightened. I look down at my knuckles, they were white. I licked my bottom lip, my mouth had gone try. I swallowed. 'J-James?" I whispered, "H-H-arry?" '_They're not mine.' _I closed my eyes. Tears and utter pain_, misery _welled up in tears. '_They're not mine.'_ Repeating it made it all the more real, I choked back salty tears. It was a lie. It was a lie. It was a lie.

"L-lily, love, Don't listen to him, we love you."

It was a lie. _'Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. I wasn't Lily, no no no not Lily. Maybe Lily didn't even exist.'_

"Salazar, kill him."

I can't feel my fingers, I couldn't feel my wand. Distantly, my mind in fog of green light, I looked down. My wand had clattered to the floor. I fell to the floor after it.

Salty tears tracking down my cheeks. '_Not mine, not mine, not mine' _I didn't pick up my wand, _'Was it even mine? Nothing else was.' _I just slid down the wall and hugged myself. _'Not mine, not mine, not mine.'_

"Lily, Lily! Oh, god Lily. Your alive!"

"Your my wife, Lily. We got married straight after graduation."

"We love each other so much."

"Harry's our son, Lily. OUR'S. Lily, please. He turned one years old only a few months ago."

"YOUR LILY SAMANTHA POTTER! Your maiden name was Evans! You have a sister called Petunia who's a muggle and you don't like her but you do love her! Your best friend was Marlene McKinnon, who was in the Order with us and you've been to every Holyhead Harpies match to cheer for her! My best friend-Sirius, is Harry's godfather, you two ran a duelling club at Hogwarts, you saved his life, he was going to be our secret-keeper, he loves Harry just like you do! And Moony, Remus, your brother! D'you remember him? Yea, your a member of his pack Lily, LILY, LILY LISTEN TO ME! Your favourite colour is green and your a Gryffindor, but have wonderful qualities and talents of all four houses and your an Author. Your Lily Potter, a brilliant, smart, fiery, lovely, amazing, noble, kind, caring, forgiving, powerful witch who's a duelling champion and was head girl at Hogwarts. But you can't cook, and you can't do maths, you've always wanted to get married and have children but you want to be a teacher, and an author, and an unspeakable and you want to see the world and so much more! Your brave and beautiful and you adore Harry, you sing 'Daisy, Daisy' and that mocking bird song to him whenever he's sad, when he cries. 'Mama,' was his first word. YOU LOVE HARRY! Loved him from the very second you knew you were pregnant, form when you saw him. You love me, Oh god Lil, and I love you. I love you, Lil, I love you Lily Potter. In this life, and every, other. Remember, Lily? We vowed we'd love each other forever, for _eternity. _I _love you_ Lily Potter, and that's never going to change."

I wanted love, affection. I wanted so badly for that loving husband, that sweet baby to be mine. For me to be theirs. For Tom to be lying, tricking me. _' Not mine, not mine, not mine.'_

"Salazar, kill him."

And I did.

In a cloud of choked laughter I knew who I was. I was Lily Samantha Potter; wife of James Ari Potter, mother to Harry James Potter, Order of the Phoenix agent and my family's murderer. And in the darkness I rocked, and I wept.

TBC...


End file.
